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Identity, culture, and migration

In our territory it is different from here in the city. There the community comes together in the community house, it can be 200 or 300 people. We plant and harvest the food, then we bring it to the community house and it’s distributed between the community. Some of it is sold, so the money helps buy other things.

Our children are the most beautiful gift we have from god. Our home is our shelter where we protect ourselves from the sun, the cold, and the rain; it is where we rest, where we share happy moments with our family, where we share our meals. It is our refuge.

It’s an ancient tradition. The “Dablitos” rhythms are really accelerated. If you try to write sheet music with it it will be very difficult. The real goal is to make noise so people will listen and give them money. That sound isn’t nice, what is really good is to see it all together: the dance, the rhythm, the noise. We are trying to make it easier for outsiders to understand and enjoy it. How can we make a successful fusion, like they did in Brazil?

I work here even though life is safer in the indigenous reservation. But I love it here, and I do it for my children. I am very proud of my baton, it symbolizes my struggle for theindigenous community. The government is looking to show the bad side of the indigenous communities, but we are not all bad.

We talk to the kids, sometimes they listen. If not, we talk with their moms. We are trying to teach them that this park is for them. They get the message, if they destroy this park there will be no place to play. These kids are not rude, they get it. They take care of the park but sometimes they make some little damages.

Here we have in first place we have the CRIC flag. After that, we have the ponchos that make us warm in both physical and spiritual ways beacuse they work as shields against bad energy. Those are our hats, they are tipical and cover us from the heat, they also work against bad ideas that come from the outside. Finally, we have the indiginous batons that represent the historical resistance of our people.

Men rely on women, from the first to the last moment of our lives. An important element in that relationship is the security of having food, delicious and healthy food, which gives strength to our spirit and soul, strength to remember our purpose to preserve our territory. These women, whom we call “sazoneras”, they are are kitchen wise.